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So late April/early May we attempted to relocate a small colony of four. My friend (let's call her Frances) is their primary caretaker, but I support her in many, many ways, in part because I am more educated about cats/ferals.
Frances had been caring for 3 of them for about a year at the time we relocated. We were forced to leave one those guys behind, and I took the fourth one home with me because he was very new and not yet established, nor neutered (the others are) and we worried how the three of them would do being contained in the 10x10 kennel together.
We had countless setbacks due to weather and kennel conditions and every time a disruption occurred, we started the four week containment period over again. Finally, after much trial and error and an improvement in weather we "officially" started the holding period and they were released nearly two weeks ago.
Halfway through containment they appeared to be coming around and returning to their old selves. After release, they seemed to be having a good time exploring and hunting together, and eating a bit better.
At the old place they never roamed far, and always showed up at meal time or if I dropped by for a snack. They were always there and always ready to eat and always came when called.
But here Hobo is rarely eating the food she puts out which is very frustrating for her as she feels she's been wasting a ton of food since the move (and she has). He only appears a little after dusk to eat only a small amount - and some nights he has not shown up at all. He also appears to be spending most of his time in the neighborhood behind her, despite the fact that she has a very, very large backyard and sizeable front yard as well that is a very safe distance away from the road.
The biggest issue is that he has become a killing machine. She had always caught him hunting the occasional bird at the old place, but he seems to be subsisting on his kills here. He is killing a massive amount of lizards and a fair amount of birds, not just on her property, but neighboring properties as well. He is leaving carcasses around people's yards and also under/between the pallets in the kennel.
She says he looks more wild than she's ever seen him. He seems more aggressive in appearance to the point where she is a bit frightened of him at this point. I believe her fear is genuine (even if unjustified) because she has always strongly favored Hobo, as she brought him back from the brink of death.
Puff is fairing better but likes to tag along with his buddy and ends up participating in the nuisance behaviors as a result.
Anyway, today she was able to "trap" them back in the kennel because she is concerned about their behavior. Being a renter, she is very worried about angering neighbors and her landlord. We both fear someone calling animal control, or worse. The neighborhood they are exploring has houses in close proximity - two new, feral cats showing up together and hunting will not go unnoticed for very long.
At this point, I am very, very worried. We have hit hurdle after hurdle with relocating these guys. Frances loves them, she truly does - but unfortunately she has never really understood that feeding a feral makes them dependent on you and it is as much of a commitment as adopting an animal from a shelter. So even though she is their primary caretaker, I have a better understanding of the reality of the situation and more of a sense of responsibility and stewardship of them than she does.
What really got me today was that her exasperation from all of the set backs we've had with this move really came through her texts. We thought we were finally home free She ended up saying that she loves them, and she loves Hobo but is not liking having him much anymore right now. She feels they've lost their connection and threw around a comment about finding a barn for them.
It really broke my heart. I know Frances loves them - please hold back any criticism of her state of mind about this, because trust me... I get it. She has a huge heart, but I don't think she had any idea of what she was getting into when she chose to feed these guys and I will be sure to have a very stern conversation with her about it in the near future.
In closing, does anyone have any insight on why this is happening and what we can do? It has only been two weeks since their release - is he just excited and will settle down in time? They came from a very rural area where wildlife was plentiful (and Frances fed birds there and doesn't here), but Hobo rarely ever hunted there and always ate the food we gave him. He also never wandered far at all and was always within earshot of us calling him. This place is more suburban, though her property in particular is quite large and tucked away from other houses and roads.
I'd also like to state what we cannot do:
- She cannot take these cats inside and attempt to tame.
- An enclosure in her yard is not possible for a variety of reasons, nor is a cat fence (primarily because she is a renter).
- I cannot take them
If we can't find other solutions or if it doesn't seem like Hobo's behavior will calm down, we have very few choices. I do have a barn I am almost certain they can go to. I trust the person entirely to do what is needed and care for them properly, but I want to avoid doing this if at all possible.
Frances had been caring for 3 of them for about a year at the time we relocated. We were forced to leave one those guys behind, and I took the fourth one home with me because he was very new and not yet established, nor neutered (the others are) and we worried how the three of them would do being contained in the 10x10 kennel together.
We had countless setbacks due to weather and kennel conditions and every time a disruption occurred, we started the four week containment period over again. Finally, after much trial and error and an improvement in weather we "officially" started the holding period and they were released nearly two weeks ago.
Halfway through containment they appeared to be coming around and returning to their old selves. After release, they seemed to be having a good time exploring and hunting together, and eating a bit better.
At the old place they never roamed far, and always showed up at meal time or if I dropped by for a snack. They were always there and always ready to eat and always came when called.
But here Hobo is rarely eating the food she puts out which is very frustrating for her as she feels she's been wasting a ton of food since the move (and she has). He only appears a little after dusk to eat only a small amount - and some nights he has not shown up at all. He also appears to be spending most of his time in the neighborhood behind her, despite the fact that she has a very, very large backyard and sizeable front yard as well that is a very safe distance away from the road.
The biggest issue is that he has become a killing machine. She had always caught him hunting the occasional bird at the old place, but he seems to be subsisting on his kills here. He is killing a massive amount of lizards and a fair amount of birds, not just on her property, but neighboring properties as well. He is leaving carcasses around people's yards and also under/between the pallets in the kennel.
She says he looks more wild than she's ever seen him. He seems more aggressive in appearance to the point where she is a bit frightened of him at this point. I believe her fear is genuine (even if unjustified) because she has always strongly favored Hobo, as she brought him back from the brink of death.
Puff is fairing better but likes to tag along with his buddy and ends up participating in the nuisance behaviors as a result.
Anyway, today she was able to "trap" them back in the kennel because she is concerned about their behavior. Being a renter, she is very worried about angering neighbors and her landlord. We both fear someone calling animal control, or worse. The neighborhood they are exploring has houses in close proximity - two new, feral cats showing up together and hunting will not go unnoticed for very long.
At this point, I am very, very worried. We have hit hurdle after hurdle with relocating these guys. Frances loves them, she truly does - but unfortunately she has never really understood that feeding a feral makes them dependent on you and it is as much of a commitment as adopting an animal from a shelter. So even though she is their primary caretaker, I have a better understanding of the reality of the situation and more of a sense of responsibility and stewardship of them than she does.
What really got me today was that her exasperation from all of the set backs we've had with this move really came through her texts. We thought we were finally home free She ended up saying that she loves them, and she loves Hobo but is not liking having him much anymore right now. She feels they've lost their connection and threw around a comment about finding a barn for them.
It really broke my heart. I know Frances loves them - please hold back any criticism of her state of mind about this, because trust me... I get it. She has a huge heart, but I don't think she had any idea of what she was getting into when she chose to feed these guys and I will be sure to have a very stern conversation with her about it in the near future.
In closing, does anyone have any insight on why this is happening and what we can do? It has only been two weeks since their release - is he just excited and will settle down in time? They came from a very rural area where wildlife was plentiful (and Frances fed birds there and doesn't here), but Hobo rarely ever hunted there and always ate the food we gave him. He also never wandered far at all and was always within earshot of us calling him. This place is more suburban, though her property in particular is quite large and tucked away from other houses and roads.
I'd also like to state what we cannot do:
- She cannot take these cats inside and attempt to tame.
- An enclosure in her yard is not possible for a variety of reasons, nor is a cat fence (primarily because she is a renter).
- I cannot take them
If we can't find other solutions or if it doesn't seem like Hobo's behavior will calm down, we have very few choices. I do have a barn I am almost certain they can go to. I trust the person entirely to do what is needed and care for them properly, but I want to avoid doing this if at all possible.